IBLOG SPACE

Less than one per cent of global online content is available in Arabic although Arabs make up 5 per cent of the world's population, a Google official has said. Joanne Kubba, Google manager of communications and public affairs for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), spoke at the opening of the Women's Leadership and Technology Conference at the American University of Sharjah (AUS) on Saturday. "You make up 5 per cent of the world's population but less than one per cent of the information is in your language," Kubba told the audience. "Even in English we don't have statistics on how much of that information is available for people in the Middle East, but in English," she added. Kubba said that of that one per cent content, a majority is not useful to people's everyday lives. "If you think of information as choice, as freedom, as power, or an ability to reduce the digital divide between us versus them — less than one per cent

BAE Systems, a global defence, security and aerospace company, has begun deliveries of RG-12 protected vehicles to Dubai Police, company executives said here yesterday. Orders for about 10 protected vehicles were placed by Dubai for an unspecified sum at the end of 2008. The vehicles are made in South Africa. BAE Systems previously sold 38 Hawk aircraft to the UAE Armed Forces, all of which are in service and are maintained by them. It also sold 72 RG-31 protected vehicles to the UAE Armed Forces, earlier. Meanwhile, BAE Systems executives said they are eyeing the UAE for industrial collaboration. "We have a global footprint. We can transfer technology," said Simon Keith, the regional head of BAE Systems, before adding they were currently in talks with the Land Systems side of Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Development Company for possible cooperation. BAE Systems delivers a full range of products and services for air, land and naval forces. Last year, its sales st

Distracted while thinking about how to begin this column, I clicked on an e-mail from a friend. She had sent me a YouTube video in which a tidy cylindrical shape on a shoulder strap unrolled to become a computer. Almost every day, someone sends a YouTube clip or invites me to join them in Facebook or LinkedIn or Friendster. None of this is remarkable, which is what makes an Italian judge's order Sunday "astonishing," as a Google spokesman put it. Judge Oscar Magi in Milan found three Google executives guilty of invading the privacy of a disabled teen in Turin. They didn't know him, didn't photograph him, nor were they aware of it when someone else posted a video of him being bullied by a group of high-schoolers. When Italian police informed Google it was hosting the video, employees took it down and helped authorities locate the teenager who posted it. She was prosecuted and sentenced to 10 months community service. Nonetheless, Google's chief

The UAE market in 2009 generated revenue of around 500 million euros (Dh2.5 billion) for Thales, a Paris-based global supplier of mission critical systems in the fields of aerospace, space, defence and security, Olivier Badard, president of Thales Middle East and Western Asia, said Sunday. "The Middle East and the Western Asia markets contribute about 10 per cent to our global revenue, which in 2009 stood at around 13 billion euros," Badard told Gulf News by telephone. "Last year, the Middle East market generated revenue of around 1.3 billion euros for Thales." Badard said the UAE is an important partner for Thales and there are five joint ventures ongoing with local partners to serve the country's defence and civilian markets. "Our partners include Mubadala Development Company, Emirates Advanced Investments and the Baynuna Group," said Badard. He said with Emirates Advanced Investments, Thales is providing tactical communications solutio

Anyone who buys an electric car will be able to take advantage of a subsidy of up to £5,000 (Dh27,964) under plans to be set out by the government on Thursday. Lord Adonis, Transport Secretary, will announce that up to £230 million will be made available for this "plug-in car grant" — although the initiative will not begin until January next year, reflecting the fact that most models are not yet available to the public. Ministers have indicated that they could subsidise consumer purchases of electric cars and plug-in hybrids, but these are the initial details of how the scheme should work. Grants of 25 per cent of the purchase price of a vehicle — up to the £5,000 limit — will be made to any buyer. Pat McFadden, business minister, said cars such as GM's "Ampera" model, due to launch in 2012, will soon be coming to the market. The government will meanwhile announce on Thursday that three areas London, Milton Keynes and the North-east have been picked

Saudi Arabia is spending 2.5 billion riyals (Dh2.4 billion) to expand the kingdom's airports, the state news-agency SPA reported on Sunday. "These projects include the development, creation and expansion of 23 airports, locally, that will serve around nine million travellers annually," SPA stated. The projects include the creation of a new 20 million riyal airport in Taif, located on the Western mountains, as well as a 300 million riyal expansion of the Najran airport in the south to be completed next year. The country has vowed to spend more than $400 billion (Dh1.46 trillion) as part of its plans to diversify the economy and upgrade its infrastructure, creating more jobs for its population of 18 million Saudis.

Al Tayer Motors, one of the UAE's premier automobile dealerships and official Maserati dealer, launched the Maserati GranCabrio at an elegant event at the Meydan racecourse. The GranCabrio is the first four-seater convertible in the history of Maserati and completes its product line-up consisting of three families of models: The Quattroporte sedans, GranTurismo coupes and now the GranCabrio convertible. The GranCabrio continues in the footsteps of the Maserati tradition in open-top models, and adds to a line-up that has made the history of the Modena manufacturer, such as the 1950 A6G Frua Spyder, the 3500GT Vignale Spyder (1960), the Mistral Spyder (1964), the Ghibli Spyder (1968) and the 2001 Spyder. The open-top GranCabrio is pure Maserati, with an unmistakable Pininfarina design, spacious interior, handcrafted details, driving pleasure and high performance. Teasing your senses The Maserati GranCabrio touches all five senses in an open-air experience that retains

Sitting in a meeting room that looks out on a frozen Baltic bay, Nokia chief executive officer Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo mentions a biography he's reading. It's about Mauno Koivisto, the president who butted heads with his own Social Democratic Party en route to opening Finland's 1992 bid to join the European Union. "He didn't always pay too much attention to what people were saying," Kallasvuo says, warming to the point. "He believed in what he was doing." Like the former president, Kallasvuo, 56, has had to develop a thick skin in his struggle to pull Nokia out of its swoon, Bloomberg Markets reports in its April issue. Since ‘OPK', as he's known inside the company, took over the world's largest mobile phone maker in 2006, he has been hit by challenges on every front. Nokia, which put a web browser on a phone during the Netscape era in 1996 and emerged as the must-have brand after its sleek 8110 m

Oil prices last month were on a real roller coaster but resistance to a precipitous fall was evident too. The fall of oil prices from almost $80 (Dh294) per barrel sometime in January to as low as $70 per barrel early in February was beyond expectations. However, and apart from a dip at the end of the first week of February to about $69 per barrel, prices began to recover gradually. The average for the Opec basket of crude oils may be slightly over $73 per barrel where the end of the month prices may have reached $79 per barrel. Yet the average is $3 per barrel less than that of January. Concerns Many factors contributed to this behaviour such as the rise in temperature and the reduced demand for heating oil, a stronger dollar for a while and the slide in the equity markets but most importantly renewed concerns about the economic recovery. In spite of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) revision of its forecast for world economic growth in 2010 from 3 to 3.4 per cent,

Oman booked a budget deficit of 22.1 million riyals ($56.24 million, Dh206.5 million) last year, a fraction of the Gulf oil producer's initial plan, helped by recovery in oil prices, central bank data showed Sunday. The global financial crisis slashed income of the key countries in the world's top oil exporting region Saudi Arabia and the UAE last year. Oman fared better because as a non-Opec member it was not obliged to join the group's output cuts. The sultanate originally planned a budget shortfall of 810 million riyals in 2009 based on an oil price of $45 a barrel and following a surplus of 1.6 billion in the previous year. Muscat's expenditures rose 4.8 per cent to 6.709 billion riyals in 2009 from the previous year, above 6.424 billion planned, on higher infrastructure spending. Revenues dropped 16.3 per cent to 6.687 billion riyals last year, but were higher than 5.614 billion projected, as oil prices recovered following a sharp fall from a 2008 re

India wants to strengthen energy ties with top Opec exporter Saudi Arabia, the country's biggest supplier of oil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Sunday. "We believe that conditions are ripe for moving beyond a traditional buyer-seller relationship to a comprehensive energy partnership," Singh said in a prepared speech during a rare visit to the kingdom. "Indian companies are well-equipped to participate in upstream and downstream oil and gas sector projects in Saudi Arabia," he told Saudi business leaders. Singh, who earlier met Saudi oil minister Ali Al Nuaimi, proposed to establish new partnerships between the two countries in the area of renewable energy through sharing of clean technologies and joint collaborations. He gave no details. Singh is the first Indian prime minister to visit the Gulf Arab kingdom since Indira Gandhi in 1982. Saudi Arabia is India's largest supplier of crude and also a major source of remittances from Indian w

Reykjavik: Officials from Britain and Iceland met on Saturday in a renewed attempt to reach a deal on repayment of more than $5 billion (Dh18.3 billion) lost by overseas savers when Iceland's banks collapsed, Icelandic media reported. Iceland wants a new deal to avoid a referendum on March 6 on a previous agreement, which the island's citizens are almost certain to reject, undermining the government's credibility and delaying access to vital economic aid. Talks on resolving the Icesave dispute appeared to have collapsed last week, but Icelandic media, citing unnamed sources, said officials from Britain and Iceland met in London and that further meetings were planned over the weekend. British and Icelandic officials were not immediately available to comment on the reports. Icelandic daily Morgunbladid and Icelandic television said the Dutch, who like Britain reimbursed savers who lost deposits in "Icesave" accounts, wer

Michael Jackson received the fatal dose of Propofol through an IV in his leg, and law enforcement believes Dr. Conrad Murray may have tried covering it up ... this according to law enforcement sources and an anesthesiologist who reviewed the case for the LAPD . Dr. Murray told cops he administered only a very small amount of Propofol -- 2.5ml shortly before Jackson died. But Dr. John Dombrowski , a noted anesthesiologist and member of the board of the American Society of Anesthesiologists who reviewed the LAPD file for detectives, tells TMZ that 2.5ml couldn't put Jackson to sleep, much less kill him. Indeed, the Coroner's report notes the level of Propofol found in Jackson's body was equivalent to that found during "general anesthesia for major surgery." A small, empty, 20ml bottle of Propofol was found in the bedroom, but there was a secret compartment in a nearby closet that could be the key to the prosecution's case. Several days after Ja

Kevin "Blue" Hampton -- the runner-up on season 2 of MTV's " From G's to Gents " -- recently reunited with his father and sister after more than 20 years apart ... and, ironically, it's all thanks to the "G's" reunion show. Blue tells TMZ the last time he saw his dad was when he was two-years-old -- when his mother left his father to move to Los Angeles with him in tow. Fast forward to a few months ago, when Blue says he received a MySpace message from a woman who had just seen the "G's" reunion show and claimed to be his older sister. Turns out his sis recognized their mother -- who was in the audience during the reunion show. Soon after, Blue was finally reunited with the family he hardly knew.

Katie Holmes has sparked rumours that she's preparing for a second baby with husband Tom Cruise - after reports emerged that the actress is undergoing intense Scientology "auditing". After promoting movie "The Extra Man" and "The Romantics" at Sundance, Holmes is back to spending hours at the Hollywood Scientology Center. Last week, she spent more than four hours at the centre, sources say. A source told Page Six, "This is exactly what happened just before she got pregnant with Suri. Tom has made no secret of the fact that he would like another baby. It is almost as if she is being prepared for it." According to a church-run website, which campaigns for silent birth, Scientologists believe the "health and the sanity of the child begin long before birth."

Nelson Mandela mistook 'Top Gear' presenter Jeremy Clarkson for an American astronaut when they met in Johannesburg. The English broadcaster revealed that the former South African President thought, he and his telly sidekicks James May, and Richard Hammond were three spacemen he was due to meet. Apparently, Mandela even asked what it was like on the moon. "This was tricky. I couldn't say that we made a pokey television programme about cars because then he might wonder what on earth we were doing wasting his valuable time," the Daily Star quoted Clarkson as saying. He added: "So, I did what I thought was best and said it was very rocky and dusty and there wasn't much gravity." Moreover, Clarkson asked if the 91-year-old had been to a lap-dancing club. But Mandela said "with much dignity" that he had not.

Brooklyn Decker, wife of tennis champ Andy Roddick, is set for a career in Hollywood. The Sports Illustrated cover girl has signed on to star in 'Just Go With It,' a romantic comedy starring Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston. "I'm so happy and excited to be working with such an amazing cast and crew on my first film," the New York Post quoted Decker as saying. "I just hope no one minds if I try to get Sandler in a mankini for my next shoot," she added.

Whitney Houston is having trouble singing at her concerts in Australia because of her smoking habit. The singer's voice apparently cracked during her shows in both Brisbane and Sydney. She has received flake from critics and fans, who even walked out from her shows. Now, tour promoter Andrew McManus has revealed Houston is having breathing difficulties due to her tobacco habit. "Whitney smokes. God bless her, I can't tell her not to. She will not take any substances. She just will not. It is what it is," the Daily Express quoted McManus as saying. He added: "She's comfortable with the show she's performing. She knows she's not hitting every note like she used to. But it's value for money, it's Whitney Houston warts and all. "I talked to her after the Sydney show. I told her I have her back but she said, 'If the good Lord wants me to be attacked and ridiculed that's the road I have to go down.'

Bollywood actors presented a vibrant choreographed dance on the last day of the annual 10-day Taj Festival in Agra. Bollywood actors Kim Sharma , Preeti Jhangiani , Sanobar Kabir and Meghna Naidu set the stage afire with a host of others celebrities. Hundreds of tourists flocked in to witness the stellar dance shows on Bollywood numbers presented by actors on the last day of the 'Taj Mahotsav'. Dharmendra Soni, an Indian tourist said, "This is a very good event in itself. Agra is famous not only in India but worldwide because Taj Mahal is a symbol of love. So tourists from across the globe visit Agra during the festival." The Taj Mahotsav, a much-awaited event, has been described as a festive introduction to India and its northern state Uttar Pradesh. "I enjoyed this programme very much, actually I have come for this party. I have looked upon the Internet, the festival Taj Mahotsav, and h

Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan has said that Indian cinema is one entity that brings all together, adding that he feels proud to be associated with it. Brooke Bond India Limited honoured Bachchan with a special award named 'Taj Enlighten Tareef Award' for his contribution to Indian film industry. In his thanks giving and acceptance speech, Amitabh Bachchan said, "In many ways I feel that Indian cinema is a great integrator and at a time when all of us are thinking separately wanted to do things separately of bringing divides amongst ourselves." " Indian cinema is one entity that is bringing all of us together and I think I feel very proud to be associated with it," he claimed. Bachchan made his film debut in 1969 as one of the seven protagonists in 'Saat Hindustani' but won critical acclaim and success in 1971 with the film Anand. The film, which catapulted him to the path of super-

Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio's 'Shutter Island' has topped the box office for second week running, while James Cameron's 'Avatar' has become the first movie ever to surpass 700 million dollar mark domestically. The Paramount Pictures psychological thriller remained the No. 1 film for a second-straight weekend with 22.2 million dollars, according to studio estimates. Kevin Smith's 'Cop Out' landed the second spot with 18.6 million dollars while 'The Crazies' stood third with 16.5 million dollars. Avatar came fourth. With a 14-million-dollar weekend, the 20th Century Fox release now is at 706.9 million dollars domestically. 'Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Lightning Thief' rounded off the top five with 9.8 million dollars, reports E! Online. The weekend's top-grossing films are: 1. Shutter Island, $22.2 million 2. Cop Out, $18.6 million 3. The Crazies, $16.5 million 4. Avatar,

Bollywood actor Manisha Koirala , who became unpopular in her own country Nepal five years ago by supporting the army-backed coup of King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah, is set to lend a helping hand to another member of the former royal family. Next month, Manisha, who now also has a foot in the Nepali film industry, will launch in New Delhi's Oberoi hotel a third novel penned by Sheeba Shivangini Shah, who is married to the nephew of the deposed king, Lt Col Bikash Bikram Shah. 'Facing my Phantoms', published by Rupa, is a semi-autobiographical novel, tracing the migration of Sheeba's family, the turmoil in Nepal, the reign of four different kings and the 10-year Maoist insurgency. The book launch is being handled by an event management company. The list of invitees includes the media, socialites and a virtual Who's Who of India and Nepal. A special list will be drawn up by Devyani Singh nee Rana, whom Nepal's crown prince Dipendra wan

Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor , one of the brand ambassadors of Pepsi, will play the role of a butler in a new TV commercial for the beverage. The 27-year-old will be seen wearing a crisp white shirt, a tie and a waistcoat with a funky spiked hairdo for the commercial that will be aired soon. Ranbir is happy with the commercial, which was shot in a mansion in Los Angeles. 'Shooting was definitely a 'wow' experience. I love the way it has turned up right from the script, the sets, the whole look. With Pepsi I have always got a chance to experiment and try new interesting characters. Each commercial brings with it a new excitement,' Ranbir said in a statement.

English actor Jude Law is said to have finally met his lovechild, taking his lawyer along for the meeting. Law, 37, who fathered the five-month-old baby girl during a fling with model Samantha Burke, flew to Florida last week to thrash out his role in bringing up Sophia. He met celebrity lawyer Maurice Kutner for six hours in Miami on February 25, ahead of the summit. "Jude was very on edge about the meeting. The pregnancy wasn't planned but he wants to do the right thing," the Sun quoted a source as saying. "It's not like he can hide - as soon as Sophia can use the Internet she can find out who her dad is," the source stated. Burke, 25, her mum Lea and Sophia are staying at the luxurious Mandarin Oriental - a few hundred yards from the star's hotel. Law and Burke and two men thought to be her lawyers, were on February 27 seen entering a local office block where their meeting is believed to hav

After almost two decades, veteran singer Sir Paul McCartney is ready to play Scotland. The ex-Beatle is to perform in Glasgow in the summer, reports The Scotsman. It as on 23 June, 1990, that the singer performed at the SECC as part of Glasgow's celebrations as European City of Culture. Now Sir Paul is to play Hampden Park on 20 June. Details of the gig, which will be part of a UK tour, are expected to be announced this week.

Ajay Devgan and Konkona Sen Sharma feel their upcoming flick 'Atithi tum kab jaoge?' is a laugh riot that shows how young couples in Mumbai deal with an unannounced guest. 'I think people will relate to the film a lot because this basically reflects the lives of young couples today in Mumbai. There are people from all over the country coming here to make their lives,' said Konkona. The movie that also has versatile actor Paresh Rawal playing the guest is directed by Ashwni Dhir and produced by Amita Pathak . It releases Friday. The film revolves around Puneet (Ajay) and Munmun (Konkona), a happily married couple living in Mumbai. Their life takes a turn when a distant relative, Chachaji (Paresh), turns up unannounced from a far-off village. The chaos that follows makes it a rib-tickling comedy where the agonised couple tries various methods to get rid of him but fails every time. 'It is about the comedy that happens while trying

Nicole Kidman has joined the cast of the romantic comedy Just Go with It. The stunner, better known for her dramatic roles, will be joining film stars Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston, and Sports Illustrated model Brooklyn Decker in the film, reports The Herald Sun. Originally titled Pretend Wife, the film sees Sandler recruiting Aniston to pose as his soon-to-be-divorced wife in order to land the girl of his dreams. Kidman's role is expected to be small. The movie is due to start filming in Los Angeles this month.

Moviegoers in Japan can't get enough of Johnny Depp: The "Pirates of the Caribbean" star has been named favourite actor for a record seventh straight year in a survey by Japanese film magazine Screen. That topped the previous record of six consecutive years for Audrey Hepburn in the early 1960s in Screen's annual "Golden Grand Prix" readers poll, which the magazine has been conducting since 1952. Depp, who was named People magazine's "sexiest man alive" for a second time last year, picked up over 4,500 votes for top actor, more than double the number for "Twilight" heartthrob Robert Pattinson in second place. "Inglorious Basterds" star Brad Pitt was third. "His popularity hasn't gone down since the time of the first 'Pirates of the Caribbean' movie," Screen's editor-in-chief, Akihiro Yonezaki, told Reuters. "He has such a wide fan base ranging from the younger genera

Many cinema halls around the country have decided to create a stadium-like atmosphere by screening live the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches. The matches, from March 12 to April 25, will be played in India after being held in South Africa the last time. The matches will be screened in multiplexes as well as on single screens. 'It is a new and exciting offer. Usually the traditional method is to show films in theatres, so this is something innovative,' UFO Moviez India CEO Rajesh Mishra told IANS. UFO Moviesz is a digital satellite cinema network that will facilitate the live showcase of matches in cinema halls. Mishra revealed that many multiplexes warmed up to this initiative because not many big budget films are releasing during the period of the IPL. 'IPL has become a strong property. On top of that, no big budget film is releasing during this period. So, screening matches will be beneficial for the halls because no major film shows w

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan today defended his decision to boycott the Filmfare awards, where he was adjudged best actor for his role in 'Paa', saying he did it to protest against the "slanderous" media report about his daughter-in-law Aishwarya. "The article was indecent and any man in the world must oppose if such an obscene article is written about a woman in his family," the 68-year-old actor said on his blog. The veteran movie star termed the article in a city-based tabloid, as "slanderous". Lambasting the report Bachchan said "the modesty of a lady in my house was slandered...the article slandered Aishwarya, so it was very difficult to participate in a function organised by the same media house." No women would like her personal issues such as fertility or motherhood being discussed in this manner, he added. An article published last week claimed Aishwarya, married to Amitabh's son Abhishek was suffering from

Oscar-winning sound engineer Resul Pookutty says he was inspired to start his own NGO as he was inundated with requests for financial help after he won the Academy Award. 'Over the last one year, so many things happened in my life. I received a huge number of letters from across the country, seeking financial help because many people thought that A.R. Rahman and I have won billions of rupees along with the Oscar, which was false because Oscar awards don't have prize money attached to it,' Pookutty told IANS. 'I thought may be this is my time to give it back to society, however little I can,' he said. The Resul Pookutty Foundation focuses on the health needs of the underprivileged and has tied up with a hospital in Kochi. Asked about the aim of his foundation, he said: 'Resul Pookutty Foundation has initiated a huge health programme along with Lakshmi hospital in Kerala. We are giving 300 free surgeries, including open heart surgeries.

Back in August 2008 when Michael Phelps was winning gold medal after gold medal, it was fun and for a TV ratings blog, it was a break from the monotony of the summer broadcast network schedule of repeats, reality shows and summer burn off. The winter Olympics winds up being quite a bit the same: a broadcast network schedule of repeats, reality shows and crap to stuff to burn off while the Olympics are on. We’re used to that sort of thing in the summer, but we’re not accustomed to repeats of NCIS and The Big Bang Theory , Modern Family and House in February. So rather than breaking up the ratings monotony, the winter Olympics helps create it. Thank goodness for Lost and cable shows. There were days when the only new programming on the broadcast schedule were the Olympics and American Idol . But broadcast TV comes roaring back this week, and NBC in particular will have a new face. Before the week is up we’ll have our first data on: How The Marriage Ref fared af

In an Ad Age article about the increasingly fractured late night viewership landscape comes this nifty graphic above with estimates of the advertising revenue across the late night shows. Note that Late Night’s ad revenues are estimated to have been above The Tonight Show’s in 2008, even before NBC did it’s best to commit late night suicide. Props to E!’s Chelsea Lately , nearly the ad revenue of Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report and headed up, while Colbert is headed down.

Robert already posted about the NY Times story concerning the situations of the broadcast network news divisions but the best part of that NYT piece was this analogy from Andrew Heyward (former president of CBS News) describing the current strategic situation in broadcast network news. But the networks will surely stick it out, he predicted, if only because they do not want to see their competitors win. “I sometimes compare it to three people in a leaky boat,” Mr. Heyward said. “Each one sees an island shimmering in the distance and starts thinking: I could jump out and swim for the island and maybe I could make it. “On the other hand, I could drown and make the boat lighter so the other two make it. I think you are going to see everybody staying in the game because everybody knows leaving guarantees a longer lease on life for their competitors.” Priceless. More at The New York Times

Spurred by the announcement of deep cuts at ABC, there’s a story in Monday’s New York Times by our friend Brian Stelter and Bill Carter that focuses on the changes the news divisions at ABC and CBS face . The same compelling motive already instigated strategic retrenchment at ABC’s broadcast competitors. NBC, the one network with a cable news channel, MSNBC — and, not coincidentally, the only network in a sound position of profitability — has drastically pared down its operations over the last few years. So has CBS, which is losing money already and has cut about 70 jobs this year. The FOX broadcast network doesn’t have a national nightly news telecast. Probably not a terrible spot to be in at this point. But despite huge ratings attrition for the broadcast nightly news telecasts over the last 30 years, the story notes today’s broadcast news telecasts are still bigger than any of the shows on the cable news networks: While they have steadily shed viewers, to a cumulat

Ah Internet, you love Betty White so. So do I, going back to her days as Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show . But some fans seem to think Betty White will drive the biggest ratings Saturday Night Live will have all year or even in years. That seems very unlikely. The two highest-rated SNL’s of the year have something in common: big lead-ins. Charles Barkley’s turn at host on January 9 is still the highest-rated SNL this year. It followed the NFL Wild Card game (Eagles vs. Cowboys) on NBC. Last night’s SNL hosted by Jennifer Lopez was the second highest-rated SNL of the year, and it had a big night (at least for a Saturday) of the Olympics as its lead-in. What does NBC have coming down the pike for the remainder of the year that will provide NFL playoff or Olympic style lead-ins? What rhymes with nothing? Nothing! Next week, Saturday reverts to a wasteland in primetime. With or without Betty White, that’s not great news for Saturday Night Live .

Urgent talks in the US Senate on financial regulatory reform extended into Saturday, but little support emerged for the latest attempt by Democrats to compromise on a key issue — financial consumer protection. Neither Democrats nor Republicans were embracing an offer made on Friday by Democratic Senator Christopher Dodd, chairman of the banking committee, to scale back US President Barack Obama's proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA). The consumer watchdog idea remained a major stumbling block impeding bipartisan Senate agreement on financial regulation reform, a top domestic policy priority for Obama. Dodd circulated a proposal on Friday to make the CFPA a division of the Treasury Department, instead of an independent agency, which the president recommended in mid-2009 and which the US House of Representatives has endorsed. But many Democrats are still holding out for an independent agency, while Republicans and bank lobbyists want to kill the CFPA altogether, leavi

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Washington: Companies in the US probably cut more jobs last month and the unemployment rate increased, indicating the labour market in the world's largest economy is still struggling to rebound, economists said before a government report this week. Payrolls probably fell by 50,000 after declining 20,000 in January, according to the median forecast of 62 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News before the Labour Department's March 5 report. The unemployment rate may have increased to 9.8 per cent from 9.7 per cent. Winter storms last month may have contributed to a lower payrolls number, some economists said. A lack of job growth since the economy began expanding again in mid-2009 is making for an uneven recovery from the worst recession since the 1930s. Companies are reducing head count to trim costs, a trend that's likely to restrain consumer spending in coming months. "Even leaving aside the effects of inclement weather, the

Chicago: The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp is seeking bids for $610.5 million (Dh2,240.5 million) of unpaid loans it's holding from failed US lenders including IndyMac Bank, Silverton Bank and New Frontier Bank. The loans are backed in part by land, developed lots and condominium construction projects, said Peter Tobin, managing director of New York-based Mission Capital Advisors LLC, the FDIC's marketing agent and financial adviser for the offering. Most of the properties are in Colorado, California, Utah and Idaho, and about 78 per cent of the debt is 90 days or more past due, according to a description on Mission Capital's website. The FDIC is disposing of real estate, soured mortgages and personal property ranging from tour buses to palm trees that once belonged to failed banks. More than 160 lenders collapsed since the start of 2009, and the tally may grow this year, with 702 firms on the FDIC's "problem bank"

Sydney: Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan said the government is confident the economy is strengthening after last year's global recession. Swan, commenting in a statement before the release of fourth-quarter economic-growth figures on March 3, said, "Whatever the numbers are on Wednesday, we're confident we can recover strongly, but we're far from complacent given some sectors of our economy are still vulnerable." Australia's gross domestic product probably rose the most in a year and a half in the last quarter, according to a Bloomberg News survey of analysts, boosted by A$22 billion (Dh72.29 billion) in spending by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on roads and schools. Signs of a rebound will prompt central bank governor Glenn Stevens to boost the benchmark lending rate to 4 per cent from 3.75 per cent tomorrow, according to 14 of 19 economists surveyed. "Any interest-rate rise is of course very tough on family budget

Tokyo: Fresh from a grilling by US lawmakers, Toyota president Akio Toyoda will speak today in China about his company's quality problems, seeking to boost confidence and ease consumer worries in the world's biggest auto market. Toyoda, who testified at a US Congressional hearing last week about the spate of global recalls plaguing Toyota Motor Corp, will speak to reporters at a Beijing hotel, company spokeswoman Ririko Takeuchi said. The number of vehicles being recalled in China is small compared with the 8.5 million vehicles recalled worldwide since October for sticky gas pedals, faulty floor mats and glitches in braking software. But Toyota has ambitious plans for growth in China, where it and its global rivals are finding growth that was stagnating even before the recall crisis in traditional American and European markets. Pedal problems The flood of recalls in the United States has shaken confidence in Toyota's reputation f

London: The British government needs to be blunter about its public spending plans and will set out further details of cuts in this month's budget, Treasury minister Liam Byrne said in an interview published on Saturday. Figures on Friday showed the British economy grew faster than previously estimated in the last three months of 2009, the quarter in which it emerged from the longest recession on record, but finance minister Alistair Darling reiterated his warning that support for the economy needed to remain in place. When to cut public spending has emerged as one of the biggest dividing lines ahead of an election expected in May, with the opposition Conservatives saying the record deficit needs to be brought down quicker than ruling Labour plans. "We've got to be much blunter about out plans for public spending," Byrne said in an interview with The Times newspaper. "We've got to find £82 billion (Dh458.16 billion

he Senate appears to be gearing up to use a rare budgetary maneuver to push through a Democratic-supported health care overhaul, but even the Senate Democrat's top budgeter says it can't be used for wholesale reforms. Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, said the rules around "reconciliation" only allow for items that can be budgeted to be approved through the process that allows for a simple majority of 51 Senate votes. "The major package of health care reform cannot move through the reconciliation process. It will not work," Conrad said on CBS' "Face the Nation." "This whole bill cannot be passed on reconciliation. It would be the budget elements of the bill, with a simple majority vote," Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., agreed on "Fox News Sunday." Under the limitations of reconciliation, items like prohibiting insurance companies from denying coverage to those with pre-existi